The figure, drawn from Zurich’s retail, group, and direct claims across total and permanent disability (TPD), income protection, and death cover, appeared in “The Value of Chronic Care,” a report published July 8 that ranks how 38 OECD health systems manage long-term illness. The claims breakdown lands as Australian regulators, insurers, and reinsurers grapple with a shift from acute, short-duration risk toward chronic, hard-to-reserve morbidity – the segment that has proven most difficult to price sustainably. The signal carries weight in part because of the source: Zurich held 23.5% of individual advised death cover annual premium as of December 2025, second only to TAL’s 27.5%, according to Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) statistics, making it one of the largest retail life writers commenting on a trend that hits its own book.
